Don’t panic, sew a face mask instead!
As you may be seeing in the news, along with the shortages of toilet paper and many dry goods, face masks are in very short supply. For the average person who is social distancing, this shouldn’t cause much of an issue.
For a health professional, however, this is dire. Doctors, nurses, and additional medical staff in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, etc. are at the greatest risk and a face mask is a necessary protective measure.
Some hospitals are even creating their own makeshift face shields to protect themselves. Other hospitals are now allowing fabric face masks to be donated as a interim solution because the CDC does allow fabric masks as a crisis response option.
While shelter in place has not been ordered for everyone across the United States, staying home as much as possible is still highly recommended. So this project is a great opportunity to get some sewing time in while using up fabric scraps and helping our communities.
Please note: Make sure to call your local hospitals or urgent care centers to confirm they are accepting fabric masks before sending them to them.
How To Sew A Face Mask
Materials you’ll need for a fabric face mask are:
- Tightly woven 100% cotton fabric
- Rope elastic or flat elastic (1/8″). Dollar Store find: People have also used elastic ponytail holders in a pinch or you could buy elastic headbands and cut them down to size.
Instead of a step-by-step tutorial with pictures, I thought I would share the video tutorial below created by The Turban Project.
You can find face mask pattern on The Turban Project’s patterns page. While you’re there, why not check out some of the additional patterns for beanies, turbans, and courage caps?
How Do I Help In A Crisis?
It’s always hard to know how to help in a crisis. So I created my own little mantra which I use when I start to worry (shared below).
The gist of it is that being of service is a great way to stay connected to your community and your own sense of self.
So if sewing isn’t your thing, consider making a handmade card or knitting or crocheting a blanket.
The personal touch of a handmade item makes it that much more special.
Do You Know of An Organization In Need?
If you know of an organization in need of handmade items that isn’t listed already on charities needing help page, please contact me and send me the URL and any information you can share. I will add them to the list!